Ashokan Prakrit
Asokan Prakrit, Aśokan Prakrit
Ashokan Prakrit inscribed in theBrahmi script atSarnath.
Native to	Maurya Empire
Region	South Asia
Era	268—232 BCE[1]
Language family	Indo-European Indo-Iranian Indo-Aryan Ashokan Prakrit
Early forms	Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-Iranian Proto-Indo-Aryan
Writing system	Brahmi,Kharoshthi
Language codes
ISO 639-3	None (mis)
Glottolog	None
Bahapur Gujarra Saru Maru Udegolam Nittur Maski Siddapur Brahmagiri Jatinga Pakilgundu Rajula Mandagiri Yerragudi Sasaram Rupnath Bairat Bhabru Ahraura Barabar Taxila (Aramaic) Mahasthan Laghman (Aramaic) Maski Palkigundu Gavimath Jatinga/Rameshwara Rajula/Mandagiri Brahmagiri Udegolam Siddapur Nittur Ahraura Sasaram Kandahar (Greek andAramaic) Kandahar Yerragudi Girnar Dhauli Khalsi Sopara Jaugada Shahbazgarhi Mansehra Sannati Sarnath Sanchi Lumbini Nigali Sagar Nigali Sagar Nandangarh Kosambi Topra Meerut Araraj Araraj,Rampurva Rampurva Ai Khanoum (Greek city) Pataliputra Ujjain class=notpageimage| Location of theMinor Rock Edicts (Edicts 1, 2 & 3) Other inscriptions often classified as Minor Rock Edicts Location of theMajor Rock Edicts Location of theMinor Pillar Edicts Original location of theMajor Pillar Edicts Capital cities

Ashokan Prakrit, also known asAsokan Prakrit orAśokan Prakrit (IAST:Aśoka Prākṛta), is theMiddle Indo-Aryandialect continuum used in theEdicts of Ashoka, attributed to EmperorAshoka of theMauryan Empire who reigned 268 BCE to 232 BCE.^[2] The Edicts are inscriptions on monumental pillars and rocks throughout theIndian subcontinent that cover Ashoka's conversion toBuddhism and espouse Buddhist principles (e.g. upholdingdhamma andahimsa).

The Ashokan Prakrit dialects reflected local forms of the Early Middle-Indo-Aryan language. Three dialect areas are represented: Northwestern, Western, and Eastern. TheCentral dialect of Indo-Aryan is exceptionallynot represented; instead, inscriptions of that area use the Eastern forms.^{[3]: 50 [2]} Ashokan Prakrit is descended from anOld Indo-Aryan dialect closely related toVedic Sanskrit, on occasion diverging by preserving archaisms fromProto-Indo-Aryan.

Ashokan Prakrit is attested in theBrahmi script, as well as theKharoshthi script in the north-west.^{[clarification needed]}

Masica classifies Ashokan Prakrit as an Early Middle-Indo-Aryan language, representing the earliest stage afterOld Indo-Aryan in the historical development of Indo-Aryan.^[3]: 52

There are three dialect groups attested in the Ashokan Edicts, based on phonological and grammatical idiosyncrasies which correspond with developments in later Middle Indo-Aryan languages:^[4][5][6]

• Western: The inscriptions atGirnar andSopara, which: preferr overl; do not merge the nasal consonants (n,ñ,ṇ); merge all sibilants intos; prefer(c)ch as the reflex of the Old Indo-Aryan thorn clusterkṣ; have-o as the nominative singular of masculine a-stems, among other morphological peculiarities. Notably, this dialect corresponds well withPali, the preferred Middle Indo-Aryan language of Buddhism.^[7]: 5 According toTurner, the inscription at Girnar is closer toMarathi than toGujarati, and posits "Proto-Marathi" speakers previously had a more northernly presence.^[8]
• Northwestern: The inscriptions atShahbazgarhi andMansehra written in theKharosthi script: retain etymologicalr andl as distinct; do not merge the nasals; do not merge the sibilants (s,ś,ṣ); metathesis of liquids in consonant clusters (e.g. Sanskritdharma > Shahbazgarhidhrama). These features are shared with the modernDardic languages.^[9]
• Eastern: The standard administrative language, exemplified by the inscriptions atDhauli andJaugada and used in the geographical core of the Mauryan Empire: preferl overr, merge the nasals inton (and geminateṁn), prefer(k)kh as the reflex of OIAkṣ, have-e as the nominative singular of masculine a-stems, etc. Oberlies suggests that the inscriptions in the Central zone were translated from the "official" administrative forms of the Edicts.

The following is the first sentence of theMajor Rock Edict 1, inscribedc. 257 BCE in many locations.[10]

• Girnar:

• Kalsi:

• Shahbazgarhi:

• Mansehra:

• Dhauli:

• Jaugada:

The dialect groups and their differences are apparent: the Northwest retains clusters but does metathesis on liquids (dhrama vs. otherdhaṃma) and retains an earlier formdipi "writing" borrowed from Iranian.[11] Meanwhile, the l ~ r distinctions are apparent in the word for "king" (Girnarrāña but Jaugadalājinā).^{[citation needed]}

• Indo-Aryan languages
• Languages of India
• Extinct languages of Asia
• Prakrit languages
• Ashoka

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